Starfinder: Dead Suns

Game Master Simmyish

"Right," says Miles, "I'll grab tha' pistol, an' let's loot tha' metal fragments." He checks the indicator and sees the 8 units of petrol, looking around to see if there are any canisters or petrol for filling up the pistol.

Assuming not, he asks, "What's next, cap? Tha' crew storage?"

Netharan walks up next to Miles, checking his pistols magazine. "I think that is a good idea Miles. We can finish checking the ship on the way to the rock. Does that work for you captain?"

Netharan walks up next to Miles, checking his pistols magazine. "I think that is a good idea Miles. We can finish checking the ship on the way to the rock. Does that work for you captain?"

You are welcome to take the flame pistol if you want. It will be a secondary weapon for Miles—he just picked it up since nobody else seemed to want it.

Another glance at the map on the display came before Tetch nodded to Miles and Netharan. "Exactly. The Acreon is likely safer now. Thinking the driftrock is clear is a sucker's wager." Imitating Netharan, they checked the ammunition in the pistol they carried. "How many shots do you have left?"

Apart from the 8 shots in the pistol, there is no other ammo around. Going to the only other unexplored location, you make your way back towards the bridge but turn down the starboard corridor to a door that faces the bow of the starship on the wall. It is closed and locked.

Miles goes up to the door and says, "Right, this is tha' one what needs unlocked, ya? Someone wanna jimmy this open?

Atrios tries to unlock the door
I don't know, he says. Half of me is afraid to find out what's on the other side but the other half is excited by the fear...,

engineering: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

Netharan tosses Tetch a clip, containing 9 rounds. "I've got some extra rounds, best for us both to be ready."

When you go to unlock the door, the door unlocks and slides open, and immediately afterwards, a laser shoots out of the door towards Atrios

Jury-Rigged Laser Blast Trap attack roll: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19

The laser hits atrios square in the chest.

Jury-Rigged Laser Blast Trap damage: 3d6 + 1 ⇒ (5, 4, 6) + 1 = 16 Force Damage.

Once the blast clears, you see a jury-rigged trap on the other side of the door that has now been triggered and is inert.

Looking around the storage room, there is about a bulk's worth of the starmetal found elsewhere on the ship that seems to be piled up. In addition to that, you also find an attachment that looks like it could fuse with a weapon, and two serums of healing. In addition to that are three medpatches.

"Get down!" yells Miles, a split second too late as the blast hits the elf. He charges into the room to look for enemies, but sees there are none.

Medicine: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Seeing that the elf is hurt but not dead, he says, "Eh, ye'll live," but carefully helps Artois back to his/her feet in a way that belies his cavalier words.

Edit: Miles already has a fusion on his weapon (called starknife), but that disruptive fusion seal could be very useful if someone wants it -- in case we run into undead...From what I can tell of the rules, we would need to find a weapon of at least level 3 that does blunt damage to use that seal--is that right?

That is correct, and this particular fusion seal can be used on any weapon from levels 3 - 5

Since the system said there were no life signs on the ship apart from what they had dealt with, Tetch was fiddling with settings on the EyesUP™ interface while referencing information. (Skill training) The ammo from Netharan was definitely appreciated, as that gave them the possibility of lasting a little longer in fights, but what else had happened? They had the roster and the manifest, but they had not found any bodies yet... Not good.

Atrios fiddling with the door, and the laser blast was alarming to the point that they had their pistol out, but not aimed. As Miles checked Atrios, they attempted to help where they could, if they could. They had almost checked every room, and answers were still coming up short.

"Not looking forward to wandering the 'rock", they thought aloud, voicing their realization of the current state of this investigation.
____________________________
Medicine: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

Jumping back from the laser blast, Netharan sticks his head into the doorway scanning the corners of the room for any more threats.

"Atrois, are you all right?" ,Netharan asks, concerned for his teammates well being.

Not really hearing Netheran's Atrios is consumed with a vision.
"It's different this time...,"
Not the dissonant phantasmagoria that's been delighting and frightening him all his life. This is clear. This was the future. The adventures of he and his friends. Oh the places they will go! The things they will see!
"He's coming!"
Reality tears swirling into an elf-sized portal. A figure steps through, an elf in fact. He look almost exactly like Atrios. The two elves smile at and throw their arms around one another. They then simultaneously start babbling excitedly, occasionally speaking in unison. To speak out loud to each other! Finally!

Atrios gently touched his twin's shoulder.
"I thought you said you had everything under control," he snarked.
"I did! until..." began Atrios
"the laser!" the two elves said simultaneously.

Atrios looked at the rest of the group. Tech, Netheran and... Miles! He was alive!!! It was so much fun to see the subtle differences between these friends and the ones he left behind.

Flashing back to the displays of powerful magic used to torment and kill by the dark elf masters of his past, Miles gives a wordless cry and jumps back away from Artois, taking cover behind the nearest bulkhead.

Atrios casts a sympathetic glance at Miles. In his own reality, Miles had confided his past trauma. That he never had a chance to heal from it was an extra layer of to the tragedy of his death.

"Ah, let me explain," he said "I didn't do this. I'm not even sure what this is. I am Atrios. But from another reality. For whatever reason, of all the possible versions of us, we have been in contact. I think maybe a higher power has given us a chance to switch places,"

Were they doing the right thing? He remembered seeing the rift open, feeling it open. What else could he do but go in? Impulsiveness was a multiversal constant in all versions of Atrios.

"Atrios," he put his arm around his other self brushing aside stray lock of hair. "It's time. Don't worry, my friends will take good care of you and I'll be in touch. Our connection should still hold. if not I'll find a way to contact you."

He looked at the rift. It was ever so slightly smaller than a moment ago. As a reality-warper, he could sense that the rift would close soon.

"Quickly Atrios!" he cautioned There cannot be two of us in the same reality for too long,"

In the background, with a pause and the Shirren equivalent of a blink, Tetch casually inspects the ingredients of the ration bar that they were eating, shaking their head and saying something under their breath.

Atrios takes one last look at his friends. His eyes well up with tears.
"I haven't known you guys for long but I've come to really like all of you. I don't know what lies ahead but I promise you can trust Atrios. He is me, after all!

Brave Miles, Canny Netheran, Artful Tetch I will miss you all!"

He nods at the new Atrios, takes a deep breath and steps into the rift.
It closes behind him leaving only one Atrios is this reality.

The tear closes, however it seems to linger for a little bit too long as it starts to get worse, just before the Atrios you knew steps through. When Atrios does step through, however, the rift settles and then blinks out of existence, leaving you with the new Atrios.

For some reason, however, the tear is still slightly visible, like a crack in the air.

Atrios casts detect magic on the remnants of the tear
Mysticism: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20
He examines what's left of the tear, making mental notes of whatever he can perceive.
"So!" says Atrios Clapping his hands and rubbing them together "Where to next?"

Entering the room cautiously once it appears that he isn’t about to be tortured with dark magic, Miles heads over and picks up the useful gear, passing it around and keeping one of the Med serums for himself.

Looking like he might answer Artois’ question, Miles catches himself and backs away a bit until he can get a good read on this new incarnation of the elf.

Sense Motive: 1d20 ⇒ 5

"This is a bit disconcerting. You look like Atrios but I'm guessing you are not exactly the Atrios we know. What exactly are your intentions here?", Netharan asks as he takes a step back from the tear, unconsciously raising his pistol a little before catching himself.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

"My intentions are the same as the Atrios you knew," says Atrios.
"I understand that this is unsettling and random but then so am I!!!! From the moment I met allof you and we got swept up in this, I have sensed that this whole thing goes deeper than any of us imagined. We need to stick together and you all need to trust me,".
He doesn't look at Miles but that last part is meant for him more than the others.

Atrios isn't entirely sure what's going on, but one thing is for sure, it all started when that asteroid arrived near Absalom Station in this universe. It wasn't there in Atrios' original world, however large amounts of drift energy surrounds both the asteroid, and Atrios.

"All right, this is a little unnerving, but at the moment we don't really have an option other than to trust you. Let's get moving to check out the rock and then get back to the station."

Atrios smiles broadly and says:
"Awesome! This is even more exciting than either of me thought it would be!!"

Just confirming how your getting to the Rock - you can take the hippocampus, or you can space walk along the tow cables attached to the Acreon to the asteroid, the choice is yours :)

At the mention of a spacewalk, Atrios's violet eyes widen and his lips form a perfect 'o'. His excitement is palpable.

Still quite unsure of this new arrival, Miles says cautiously, ”Aye, let’s get a move-on.”

Miles is good with the space-walk, but he could be convinced to use the Hippocampus instead if it looks like there is a reasonable docking location with the rock.

As they move, Tetch is thinking about a spacewalk, and the idea of being surrounded by all that nothing is not as worrying as the possibility of what they might run into once they reach the rock. "We will encounter something, that is certain. The crew, for one. There is still a wildcard out there, though. Stay aware. How will we reach the rock? Just drifting?"
____________________________

Looking at the logs, the Acreon has tow cables tied to the drift rock. You can use those to get over to the asteroid.

Smiling at Tetch, Miles says, ”Yer welcome ta jump fer it, ifn’ ye like.” Grabbing a D-clip attached to a tether on his jacket, Miles continues, ”I’ll be clippin’ onto a tow cable me-self.”

Act 1: Incident at Absalom Station
Part 3: Phantoms of the Drift

The group of you, including your new old friend make your way across the tow cables to the drift rock attached to the ship. The surface of the asteroid is rather unremarkable but irregular. Only a few thousand feet in diameter, the asteroid is on the smaller side.

Your suits pick up that there is no atmosphere on the asteroid, but that was not unexpected. There is also no gravity on the surface of the asteroid.

As the last one of you steps onto the Asteroid, you see the hippocampus fire its boosters and departs from the Acreon, returning back into the direction of the pact worlds. Looks like the station recalled their shuttle.

"That was A-MA-ZING!" declares Atrios when he disembarks onto the Asteroid. He's so glad that they opted for the spacewalk. Suddenly he notices that the Hippocampus has flown away from the Acreon...

"Um, is that supposed to happen?" he asks, mildly confused

"Left us in ta' lurch, they did. Ya know why they mighta' done that capt'n?" asks Miles.

"Timer, Remote, or Guess", came the response that was clearly well beyond mildly upset, that there was a few seconds of silence as they had to visibly calm down. "It was set to return from the station on a timer, or returned remotely, or someone thought we all had died...", they ground out.

Freezing for a second, they deflated, resisting the urge to hit their head against the nearest hard thing— which would be very bad."...Did any of us contact the station with our status? Other matters have had my attention."

They looked out at the barren rock, irregular and odd, as well as the expanse of infinity above, and found that they were not as unnerved as they thought they should have been. True, a slow death was an errant bounce away, but given what they had already encountered, drifting off was not the most important thing on their mind.

Looking around the rock, it seems barren, devoid of all life. Floating with the Acreon strapped. You also notice that the terrain is... strange. Almost as if you see a chasm into space on one side, as one side of the asteroid does a clean vertical drop to the expanse.

If anyone wants to take a further look, feel free to make a perception check ;)

Netharan takes a second to scan the area hoping to notice a way to get off of this rock.

"Well this isn't great is it. Is there a way for us to contact the Ambassador from here and let him know we are stranded?, Netharan asks the group.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

Miles listens to the captain’s question and shrugs his shoulders, looking at the space rock ahead of him. ”Sorry, cap, I got nuttin’,” he says, pulling himself ahead along the tow line to the rock, planning to get there first and have a look around while the more technical types try to figure out what happened with the shuttle.

The shuttle seemed to be on course back to Absalom station when it left, like the station had recalled it. You can see the flashes of the quarantine beacon nearby as you look out back toward the Acreon.

Looking around the terrain, you notice that the side that is smooth could not have been done naturally due to the cleanness of the cut, almost like someone had sheared with a large flame torch right through the chunk of rock.

Netharan also notices something - that the asteroid has no craters on it's surface.

Finally, you do find a rocky overhang that conceals a cave entrance that looks like it leads deeper into the asteroid.

So... is this what asteroids are like in this reality? says Atrios."Or is this some kind of awesome megastructure?

" I don't rightly know," answers Miles to the new Atrois' question, apparently making an effort to not be completely closed off near the elf. "But I'm seein' a tunnel up ahead--she maybe holla'," he finishes, continuing to move towards the rock and now aiming at the 'cave' entrance.

Moving toward the rocks is awkward with the lack of gravity that your bodies take a little getting used to, but after a few minutes you all start picking up a rhythm toward the cave. The cave slopes down deeper into the asteroid, as no light comes from beyond, it's obvious that those who cannot see in the dark will be at a disadvantage.

Arriving at the front of the cave, Netharan pulls out his pistol and flashlight. He turns on the flashlight and sweeps it across the cave, looking around for anything out of the ordinary and keeping his pistol at the ready.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

Miles touches down too, switching into the personal lighting built into his sleek black armor, a soft purple light that provides only dim illumination. Thankful for Netharan’s much stronger lighting, Miles nonetheless keeps to the shadows, as was his habit in the dark tunnels of the drow strongholds.

Stealth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

Moving down the corridor, the caves have obviously been artifically carved towards more natural caverns under the asteroid, however an occasional man-made section still appears every now and again.

Time for a map: https://flic.kr/p/2intzvp

Lead on, cap...unless you want Miles to take point...

Fetch was keeping an eye on the oddities in the wall, giving the equivalent of a curious frown. "Non-standard construction. Exercise caution. Should we follow a side?" The irregularities in the walls were something that raised questions about the former ownership of this piece of rock.

Since Netharan hasn't expressed a preference for leading us forward, and he has a ranged weapon out, I suggest that Miles takes point. We can re-arrange if you guys want to, though...

"Aye, Tetch, let's folla' t'left wall," comes a voice from the darkness, then Miles glides into the light from Netharan's flashlight, his starknife in his hand, and takes point, moving ahead into the passage to the left.